76
76 is a former stable that competed for Doug Fir in 2006. They were involved in a major feud with rival faction The French Connection for almost the entire year. The team were well known for being four mismatched people who got along better than most everyone else on the roster and shared a great sense of humor. They were recently voted number 3 in the Top Ten Stables Of All Time poll conducted by Ring Aficionados. Members Ultimo Chocula: The unofficial leader of the group. Ultimo is sarcastic, cynical, and more than a little weird. Even though he was a top face at the time he had no real allies as he tended to call out other faces on their behavior, like kissing up to fans and falling for obvious heel tactics. He would usually make these remarks right in their face, even going as far as to refer to them as "baby kissers" and "affection whores". Needless to say, this rubbed a lot of the guys in the locker room the wrong way. He also had the reputation for wearing some of the tackiest looking tights into the ring at that point. Oceanic: Former three time Women's champion and de facto second in command. She's full blooded Hawaiian and skilled in many different wrestling styles. Where Ultimo was brash and outrageous Oceanic was more calm, reserved, and well spoken. Of all the members of the group she was the most respected by her peers. Oceanic was also known for being able to take on men as well as women. Ultimo often referred to her as "too good for this planet". 1 Cool Cat: A lounge singer wearing a mask with pink leopard print who constantly had a martini in one hand and a Lucky Strike in the other. Cat was prone to speaking in 1960's cool school lingo. His chain smoking was the reason for the faction conducting interviews and promos outside the arenas. The faction became an official unit due to him being the number one contender for the Canadian/American title being held by the stables main enemy, Louis VIII. In spite of his silly gimmick Cat was an outstanding ring technician with several victories over top opponents. He would have been taken more seriously if his gimmick wasn't so wacky. Dr. Jones. An overweight genial fellow with a puro style who, up until that point, was a jobber. Prior to his joining he was described as quiet, dorky, but not a bad guy. Jones would usually be doing just fine in his matches but had the habit of trying to finish his opponents with The Lariat, a move he had never landed. Missing this move would usually lead to his defeat. His attire consisted of pleather pants with Japanese characters and T shirts with funny imagery along with his reading glasses that never came off. During promos he would often be seen playing a Game Boy and chiming in at random by saying "Smoke those bitches!" Formation Leading up to the event "Slowly Going The Way Of The Dodo", a PPV in the style of Survivor Series, Ultimo was named a team captain to face off against a team called The Texas Desperadoes, led by team captain JW Starks. While Starks filled his team easily Ultimo could not get a single person to join his, due to his alienating most of the locker room. The night of the event Ultimo still had no body on his team and he was informed five minutes before the match started that if he couldn't fill the slots he would have to face all four of the Desperadoes by himself. Frantically he searched the locker room for anyone not booked that night. The first to join was 1 Cool Cat, who was not picked for any other teams for being "too weird" even though he was number one contender for the Can/Am belt. The second was Oceanic, who couldn't care less about the gender of her opponents. Ultimo then flung a door open to find Dr. Jones playing a Game Boy (the original black and white one), shouted "You'll do!", and the team was formed. To everyone's surprise the team gelled perfectly together in spite of the fact that they were not properly prepared. On top of that, Ultimo and Oceanic were the sole survivors and the team were declared the winners. Feud with The French Connection One week after "...Dodo" Cat had a Can/Am title match against champion Louis VIII, leader of The French Connection, a stable made entirely of Frenchmen. Along with Louis, an elitist upper class heir to a monarchy and considers anyone not from France to be scum, the faction consisted of Bruticus, a towering behemoth who's strength was unmatched by anyone, and the then Tag Team Champions consisting of Lucky Pierre, an open homosexual with a major inferiority complex, and Massive Attack, a self professed wrestling genius. When it appeared that Cat was about to take the title off of Louis the other three Frenchmen ran to the ring and began to beat Cat down. Suddenly Ultimo, Oceanic, and Dr. Jones ran to the ring to make the save for their new friend. Afterwards Cat told the Connection that it would be "ring a ding ding for you bozos" if he didn't get another title shot and Ultimo announced that they were now an official faction. When asked what they were to be called all four were at a loss until Ultimo blurted out "76!" when he saw the gas station across the street (they were outside because of Cat's smoking). The next few weeks saw the faction begin to establish themselves as a solid unit. They're official theme song became "I Was Made For Loving You" and each member began to wear matching ring jackets with their names embroidered on the back. During this time Dr. Jones got his first win and began showing steady improvement with each successive match. Mostly though, they called out the Connection by referring to Louis as a "paper champion". The Connection tried to ignore the taunts at first but it was becoming apparent that it was getting under Louis' skin. Louis sent Bruticus to "kill the mascot" by putting him in a match with Dr. Jones. No matter how hard Bruticus tried he could not keep Jones down, the first time anyone had taken a beating by the giant and came buck, but ultimately got beat after a Bruticus choke slam. Expecting Jones' spirit to be broken The Connection was shocked when Jones was given a standing ovation by the fans, giving him more confidence. The next match between the two factions was 1 Cool Cat defeating Pierre, evening the score. Around this time Ultimo and Oceanic began teaming up with the intention of taking the tag belts off of Pierre and Attack, Cat continued to pursue Louis' Can/Am title, and Jones vowed to knock Bruticus down to size. 76 had their identity. They were four misfits who came together to form a team that, as a unit, could not be stopped. They also began performing skits that satirized the Connection and their unwillingness to put the titles up for grabs. It was during one of these skits when something happened that has since become notorious in Doug Fir history. During a skit where 76 compared the Connection to Barney Miller the Frenchmen came out to the ring and a brawl ensued. Louis, Attack, and Pierre quickly left the ring to let Bruticus bury 76, which exactly what he did. Bruticus laid out all four member single handed but then turned his attention to Jones. Bruticus picked up his adversary when suddenly Jones finally, after countless misses before, connected with The Lariat and knocked Bruticus out cold, the first time anyone has ever done this to the massive man. This sent The Connection into hysterics. At their wits end the team of Attack and Pierre decided to put their titles on the line against Oceanic and Ultimo at the upcoming event "The Head, The Tail, The Whole Damn Thing". The two teams went back and forth in an intense match up until finally Oceanic pinned Pierre after a Rocket Launcher and she and Ultimo became the new Tag champions. The celebration was short lived as the following week Louis had Doug Fir higher ups reverse the decision as the 45 minute time limit had expired right after the referee had counted two on the deciding fall. U&O reluctantly gave the titles back but were given a rematch the following week. It appeared that U&O would regain the titles but Pierre got his revenge when he pinned Oceanic after a Reverse Powerbomb and the Frenchmen retained. Meanwhile, Louis still had not given Cat a title shot. Cat told Louis to "grow a pair down there" which caused Louis to say that he would never give someone with a pink leopard print cat mask a shot because it's beneath him. This caused a locker room confrontation between both factions that had to be separated by security. It was then declared that both teams will compete in an 8 person tag at the event "Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants" to settle things once and for all. The weeks leading up to the event were tense as both teams made a habit of walking out from the back during the other's matches. When the event occurred the match was everything everyone expected it to be, a knock down drag out affair that saw both sides hit each other with every thing they could think of. The end of the match came when Louis got Ultimo alone in the center of the ring, low blowed him when the ref's back was turned, and set him up for his finisher The Guillotine while proudly proclaiming he would "shut this fool up once and for all." Suddenly Dr. Jones slid into the ring and KO'ed Louis with The Lariat causing Ultimo to roll him up and pin him. That was not the last laugh, however. Due to the win over the Connection at "...Giants", Cat was granted a Can/Am title shot the following week and finally defeating Louis for the belt. While the rest of the team were celebrating with Cat in the locker room Ultimo gave a brief interview stating that 76 had accomplished their goal of getting Cat the belt and humiliating The French Connection. With that they would amicably go their separate ways. His final words on the matter were "We're going out on top. We're the best fucking stable in the world." After the break up Ultimo went back to the main event status and eventually defeated The Tyrant for the World Title. He was joined by his former stable mates in the ring afterwards in celebration. After several successful defenses he lost the title to Andre Calhoun in August 2007 in Syracuse, New York. Oceanic began competing in the men's division and was very successful, although she did not win any titles. She had a feud against the obnoxious frat boys The Humble Gods and briefly tagged with B movie star Hamburgers Jackpot. She also had a series of well received matches against the formidable 9-Ball. Ultimo and Oceanic became tag team partners along with The Daryl Dragon in the Japanese federation Hyperactive Mega Candy!!! and became the first ever Trios Tag Champions for the fed. This is the only time former 76 members have teamed up in an outside promotion. 1 Cool Cat had a four month title reign that ended when he got injured and was forced to forfeit the belt. He spent 9 months on the shelf and finally made his comeback in late 2007 to resounding applause. Dr. Jones steadily climbed up the ladder and was accepted as a genuine superstar. He had a feud with amoral Christian Tony Power that saw Jones humiliate the hypocrite several times. He also had two shots at the Can/Am belt but came up short both times although he was very impressive in those bouts. Possible Reunion? Not so fast. In early 2008 the Doug Fir roster was becoming more and more divided due to the then undefeated Bakuhatsu becoming the World champion. As factions were formed fans anticipated a reformation of 76. Ultimo teased a reunion during interviews, upping the anticipation tenfold. However it was revealed that Oceanic and Dr. Jones had joined Bakuhatsu in his Oni Temple stable and 1 Cool Cat had joined the all masked faction Mondo Cane'. Feeling betrayed by his former team mates Ultimo formed The Cancer Bats with recent graduates of the Doug Fir wrestling school. Although none of the 76 members faced off during the time period it was very clear that Ultimo was bitter towards his former team mates and they kept a wide berth of one another. When Bakuhatsu was defeated by Louis VIII in January 2009 for the World Title most of the stables dissolved, however The Cancer Bats remained. Ultimo then became a cult of personality with his army of loyal followers and he made it clear that the new intention of the group was to destroy Doug Fir once and for all because they feel that the promotion has become a shell of its former self. After a match where Ultimo beat his opponent until he could no longer continue Oceanic confronted her former friend and told him that she would be the one to stop him from destroying the promotion that made them who they are. Ultimo had his lackeys attack Oceanic and since then the two have been in an intense war. Dr. Jones and 1 Cool Cat approached Oceanic about lending their support but she respectfully turned them down, saying that this is between her and Ultimo alone. Oceanic and Ultimo have yet to face one another but a match between the two has been said to be "unavoidable" by both Doug Fir officials and fans alike.